(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bill-discriminating apparatus in a bill processing system such as an automatic depositing machine which discriminates a plurality of bills that are fed thereinto collectively and which executes processing depending upon the discriminated results. According to the present invention, the bills can be discriminated with an increased accuracy and at a high speed.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional bill-discriminating apparatus used, for example, in an automatic depositing machine, a bill is conveyed along a passage along which is arranged one or more discriminating sensors. The passage comprises guides on both sides thereof so that narrow gaps are defined by the guides and the bill being conveyed and so that the bill will not tilt or deviate sideways, thereby constantly maintaining the position of the predetermined pattern region of the bill that is read by the descriminating sensors. Allowance, however, must be made for a small degree of deviation. To effect discrimination in spite of the presence of a small degree of deviation, therefore, the bill must be discriminated by utilizing regions of relatively simple patterns. Therefore, it is difficult to carry out discrimination with a high accuracy, and discrimination is often erroneously rendered depending upon the damage of or contamination of the bill. In the case of small size bills, furthermore, it is difficult to completely restrict the position of the bills.
If the passage is strictly defined, furthermore, the bill is always conveyed through the same passage no matter how many times the same bill is fed into the apparatus. Therefore, a counterfeit bill can be continually fed until it is accepted by the discriminating portion. Further, if complicated patterns of the bill are discriminated in order to increase the accuracy of discrimination, all of the contents of the reference pattern memory must be read and checked. Therefore, more time is required for the discrimination process.